Japan: NKorea’s Nuclear Threat Now At ’Critical, Imminent Level’
Local Editor
The threat from North Korea's developing nuclear and conventional weapons program has reached a "critical and imminent level", Japan's defense minister said.
Speaking in the Philippines, in the company of his US and South Korean counterparts, Itsunori Onodera said it was essential those countries concerned about the threat acted to confront it.
"[The] threat posed by North Korea has grown to the unprecedented, critical and imminent level," he said.
According to Reuters, he added: "Therefore, we have to take calibrated and different responses to meet with that level of threat."
Onodera's comments came amid escalating tension between North Korea and the West. Since Kim Jong-un assumed leadership of the country in 2011, he has overseen a rapid escalation of its nuclear weapons program.
In recent months, the North continued to test intercontinental ballistic missiles, despite repeated calls from the international community not to do so. Many experts believe those missiles - which North Korea has tested by firing them over Japan - could reach the US mainland.
At the same time, it has also been testing the nuclear payloads that could be carried by such missiles.
The US has responded by saber-rattling and a barrage of rhetoric. During his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump said the US may be obliged to "totally destroy" North Korea. He has also denounced the outreach endeavors of his top diplomat, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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